Why we work for Oakland County

Oakland County offers a stable work environment, competitive salaries, a full benefits package, growth opportunities and employee training along with generous tuition reimbursement. We recognize that your hard work and dedication to the communities we serve are the driving force behind our success, and we continually look for additional ways to build a positive work environment. Join us on our journey to continue to make Oakland County a great place to live, work & play.

Monique Guerrero

Chief Neighborhood & Housing Development

Goes beyond her duties and has taken on the task of helping educate employees about diversity, equity, and inclusion. She is noted for sending well-researched emails with information about holidays and how to celebrate them.

She has been with the county for one and a half years and is pleased she can help bring change. As she explained: “Someone once said: ‘Walk into a room like your ancestors opened the door.’ I am humbled and proud to have arrived at places and spaces throughout both my academic and professional career that generations before me quite possibly would have been prohibited from occupying."

“Being at the County allows me to function within a leadership role which has the capacity to bring about change and cultivate an equity driven perspective. As Shirley Chisholm said, ‘If they don't give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.’”

“I started sending diversity, equity, and inclusion related emails to staff relatively early on as opportunities occurred. Some of the emails I have sent include: Hispanic Heritage Month, Native American Heritage Month (‘Rock your Mocs’ ‘Indigenize Public Spaces'’), Black History Month, and general emails pertaining to housing related issues as they impact majority/minority communities.

“(I’ve also sent) Holiday/Celebration/Recognition emails to include all people and all ways to celebrate. I have brought in treats from donuts everyone would love, to Mexican pastries, and even some show and tell items on display for ‘Indigenous People's Day.’ It is important to expand awareness and provoke discussion on topics previously avoided.”

She says employees should not be afraid to discuss diversity.

“A question for others who may be ‘the first’ or ‘the only’' person who looks like them hesitant to have courageous conversations in this space would be, ‘If not you then who?’ Whether we realize it or not, there are others (this could be women, young men, people of color, GenZ, millennials, first generation college students, etc.) who look onto others as the manifestation of their aspirations.

“Therefore, we must take up space with pride and ensure workplaces do not simply ‘tolerate’ differences but rather they learn to develop the competency necessary to meet dissimilarity with dignity.”

As one colleague wrote: “I am so thankful for Monique’s efforts to bring knowledge to our team every time that there is a cultural holiday. She sends the most thoughtful and well-researched emails, chock full of pictures (often of her own family engaged in the traditions/holiday) and links, helping us to learn about other cultures, misconceptions, understanding of appropriate language, etc. I look forward to them with each holiday. It is a gentle way to point all of us toward greater understanding of each other.”

Jonathan Schechter

Nature Education Writer
Department of Public Communications

Jonathan has been exploring nature almost his entire life. If it’s up to him, his journeys are far from over. He began his adventures when he was 3 years old growing up in rural Connecticut. He said his interest in nature was fostered by his father, who was a biology teacher at New York City College and by his mom, a registered nurse.

Schechter’s academic credentials include a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from Goddard College in Vermont, where he studied natural science, and a Master of Science degree from the University of Washington, where he studied forestry.

But his wealth of his knowledge about nature probably comes from the myriad number of hiking trips he has taken – in Michigan, the United States, and the world.

Schechter is not afraid to scale new heights, as he demonstrated in his 2009 climb up the summit of 19,340-foot Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, the tallest mountain on the African continent.

He admits his attraction to nature may be obsessive. “I’m addicted to exploring but it’s a healthy addiction,” Schechter said. “Some people think I know everything about nature – I don’t. However, I love to learn so I will continue to explore and share my adventures.”

Why he likes working for the County: In two words – Enjoyment and Satisfaction. “I enjoy what I do – exploring and photographing trails, parks and wildlife behavior and then transposing my observations into words for my publicly assessable county blog, ’The Wilder Side of Oakland County.’ It’s a win-win situation for my nature-embracing life and gives me a sense of satisfaction and purpose.”

Planned trips: “I hope to return to the South Manitou Island lighthouse for the fifth time. For a few weeks I will serve as the lighthouse keeper for Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. It’s one of the few places I have been where I am totally in my comfort zone and every day is a new adventure. I love hearing the coyotes yip at night and occasionally see them walking the shoreline at sunrise and sunset, the same behavior pattern I follow, minus me yipping. New adventures that would take much more planning include exploring a ruggedly beautiful landscape of glaciers with over two dozen active volcanoes. Destination Iceland! Reykjavik, the coastal capital city, is alluring and I suspect has awesome food. Iceland has cutting edge developments in engineering with the capital city powered by geothermal energy."

Dominique Holmes

Administrator Emerging Growth and Innovation
Economic Development

Dominique has been working in economic development-related areas since 2010 and came to Oakland County in January of 2018 from Automation Alley, where he had been working since 2012.

His experience with helping communities and businesses with their economic development is unsurpassed.

So, it’s no surprise that the talented professional has seen many economic successes in his career, most recently helping secure a $52 million federal grant to create a mobility supply chain transformation center that would provide resources to assist small to medium sized manufacturers in the greater Detroit region. Up to $100,000 is available to businesses worried about the transition to electric vehicles.

The grants are geared to help them stabilize, diversify, grow, and/or responsibly succeed in ownership transition.

From this an Equitable Outcomes Advisory Council (EOAC) was created to focus on working with under-served communities and ensuring minorities and overlooked populations receive resources equitably. Holmes is on this board and also is on the county's Equity Council.

The county council, overseen by Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer, Harry Weaver III, meets monthly and looks at how county government can engage the community in learning opportunities to advance its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

Holmes notes the Equity Council is a group of county employees that work to make sure everyone’s perspective is considered. Those who want to become a member of the Equity Council may click here to apply. Deadline for applications is Monday, Feb. 13.

Chief Diversity Equity and Inclusion Officer, Harry Weaver III, has high praise for Holmes.

“When I think of Dom Holmes, the first thing that comes to mind is operationalizing equity,” Weaver said. “Dom has taken it upon himself to apply the principles of the Equity Council to the role he’s playing with regional partners in a very real and tangible way.”

What Holmes says:

I am motivated in my job “because I can see the effects of my work on the community – I can see developments going up, etc. That’s a very powerful thing and there’s a lot of joy in helping your community.”

I like working for the county “because of the impact and reach that we have. Oakland County is hub not just for state and national but for international economic development. The county is a world class organization. I work with some very very talented people. It’s something you don’t often see in government. There’s no better place to be for this kind of work.”

I went into this area of work “because I’ve always been interested in politics and when I learned about government, I realized I’d have more of an impact on the health and vitality of businesses if I work on the administrative side of government. For me it was a perfect choice.”

Some Personal information – His hobby is woodworking and doing home improvement projects. The furniture he has made ranges from a window seat to a dining room table for eight.

He attributes his success “to the people I have worked with. I’m fortunate to have had people in my line of work – particularly leaders at Wayne State University, Automation Alley, and Oakland County – that have helped me move forward. They have challenged me to challenge myself. I think about these people every day and I’m thankful for them.”

Samantha Hubarth

Workforce Development Coordinator
Water Resources Commissioner’s Office

Samantha has a passion for recruiting talent and she is not shy about pairing her skills with innovation to accomplish her goals. She came to the county in 2013, starting part-time at Children’s Village before moving to WRC full time.

To bring awareness to careers in the Water Recovery industry and address staffing shortages in 2018, she had worked with colleagues to develop an apprenticeship program for the Clinton River Water Recovery Facility within the WRC.

So, when this past year Human Resources made apprenticeships a priority, the WRC Team was ready! She jumped right in and worked with many colleagues to finalize and implement Oakland County’s first apprenticeship program.

In August, the program registered its first two apprentices and quickly saw success. A third apprentice began the program in December and is excited for the opportunity.

She was also a part of the team that created WRC’s first ever Job Shadow Program, where people interested in a career in water can spend a day with WRC professionals in areas of work tailored to their interests. WRC has hosted 18 job shadows in its first year. Three of WRC’s Job Shadow participants have subsequently obtained full-time employment with WRC, and all have learned about the importance of a career in water.

Throughout the WRC’s more than 350 employees, she is well known and appreciated as being hardworking, talented, and trusted.

What is Samantha's why?

The Apprenticeship and Job Shadow programs are successful “because of the supervisors and staff that are involved in them. I can coordinate the Job Shadow, but I can’t show people the job. It’s really a team effort.”

I am motivated in my job “because I love working for the water industry. Water is an important resource, so you know the work being done is important. It’s really cool being part of something that helps the whole community.”

I love working for the county “because I work on a variety of projects and I work with a lot of great people. I really like the recruitment aspect that morphed or transitioned into work force development.”

People should know that Work Force Development “is about people. “There’s a lot of interaction with people to learn about what they’re interested in to connect them with the right potential position or career path.”

Some personal information – She loves to read, mostly non-fiction books, and crochet.

Her job – “I work with great people who care about what we do – we work hard every day and knowing that the work we do keeps people safe and makes our community better is very rewarding.”

Sherri Orr

Animal Control Officer

Sherri grew up in Flint, Michigan and attended Mott Community College and U of M-Flint to study science and wildlife biology. Before coming to Oakland County, she was a stay-at-home mom and a college student.

As an animal control officer, she typically works a 40-hour week, rotating weekly on call (available 24 hrs. during that week for emergency calls). During this busy workweek, she is not just limited to working with pets and wildlife, she works with everyone including Oakland County residents, veterinarians, rescues, court staff, county employees (Treasury Department), as well as the police/sheriff departments.

Animal Control Officers are sworn (deputized) officers. Some of our duties include investigating cruelty cases, testifying in court, educating the public on State laws as they pertain to animal/livestock welfare, kennel inspections, delivering dog licenses to the county township offices, transporting rabies specimens to Lansing for testing, transporting specimens to the state laboratory for necropsy and biopsies.

One major misconception that we do not enjoy hearing is that if we take an animal or an animal is taken to the shelter it will be euthanized. This is far from the truth. We pride ourselves on saving as many animals as possible.

How much time do you spend in your car? How do you pass time between calls when driving?

Our vehicles are our offices. We spend most of our time in them, driving from one location/call to another and when we are not on a call, we are doing reports, making phone calls, and researching for our reports.

What do you like the most about your job?

Honestly, I love my coworkers. Working at the shelter is not always easy but my coworkers make the hard times better. We are a family with a common goal, to help animals. We have a very cohesive team and work well together. Working with animals is the only thing that I have ever wanted to do. We are here to help protect the welfare of animals, but we are also here to help citizens that need assistance. We would much rather help educate and give resources to pet/livestock owners.

What is the hardest part of your job?

I do not enjoy writing tickets. Going into hoarding houses is not a pleasant experience either. Seeing neglected, abused, and injured animals is by far the hardest part of this job. Senior animals at the shelter breaks my heart as well.

What was the most memorable call you’ve responded to?

There are so many memorable calls, but my favorite is the wildlife ones. I also was called for a wolf hybrid on somebodies’ property. I was able to transport him to the shelter (they are illegal in Michigan). We contacted his owner, who was from out of state, and he was transported safely home.

How do you stay up to date with training and professional development?

Our supervisors are very encouraging when it comes to training and development on the job. We are fortunate to work for a county that is also very encouraging when it comes to personal and professional growth.

When she is not at work you can find her spending time with her family or on a hike or run with her three dogs. She also has four cats, one rat (that belongs to her daughter), and five chickens. She plans to stay with the shelter until she retires. This is the only place for her.

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